3DPrinting

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Finally found a way to get Garolite print beds for my Prusa's (europe.pub)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by the16bitgamer@programming.dev to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world

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So, from my testing while PEI is a fantastic build surface for 3D Printing. It's longevity is rather lacking. I then watched a video from Makers Muse about using G10 for my print bed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0PK4oXbJT8

Problem was (1) how to find G10 in Canada. The answer was look for it under it's industrial marketing name Garolite, which I was able to find. (2) How to make the bottom surface Matte and not ultra glossy. The answer was sanding it down, which had the added benefit of making parts stick better. (3) Sticking it to the print beds.

(3) is where I had a lot of problems. Since my only solution was to use paperclips. It worked on the mark 4 with a loss of 8mm around the print bed edge. However on the Mini it didn't work. 1) The original sheet was too thick, and 2) I needed the original Print Bed underneath for the bed leveling sensor to work.

However today I found my solution. Ripping off the PEI Sheet. It's just adheared with adhesive which once the PEI sheet is removed from, my Garolite sheet can be placed down on top of the original adhesive.

The results so far are fantastic. Garolite doesn't stick to PLA as good as PEI is when new and cleaned. However Garolite sheets lasts a heck of a lot longer and can be cleaned with heavy chemicals like Acetone without issues.

My Mini's bed isn't as levels as I thought it was. However it's nothing a bit of a disc sander can't fix :)

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[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

The problem with new PEI sheets everyone sells, is that they make the PEI so thin that it wears out so fast. It's like when they go to cut a slice off the PEI tree, they damn near miss the whole tree. And the popularity of textured sheets doesn't help either.

I have a smooth PEI sheet that came with my Prusa Mk3s 6 years ago. It has 1000's of hours of print times on it. After about 4 years of heavy use, it just wasn't much good anymore. And I didn't feel like buying a new sheet, so I took the chance and very lightly hit with some 1000grit wet/dry sandpaper to renew the surface. It now holds better than when it was new. And I can probably sand it again if it ever needs it. But new PEI plates aren't coated half as thick either. So my Bambu plates will have to be replaced at some point.